Get out your poodle skirts and leather jackets for this fun night of 50's Rainbow Bingo hosted by the delightful Bobbi Jo, while Sylvia is out of town!Just $15 per person, $25 per couple. Dinner will be available for purchase, separately, at the event. Visit https://snovalleysenior.org/ for more info.

King County Treasury will begin sending out the annual property tax bills in mid February. King County collects property taxes on behalf of the state, the county, cities, and taxing districts (such as school and fire districts), and distributes the revenue to these local governments.

Voters have approved several property-tax increases that will make much-needed investments in veterans and senior citizen services and fire protection. In some parts of King County, as much as 50 percent of the property tax bill is the result of voter-approved measures.

The Woodinville City Council met on Tuesday, February 6th. Among the many items that required the council’s consideration and attention was a presentation on King County’s Solid Waste Comprehensive Plan presented by King County Solid Waste Division Director, Pat McLaughlin.

McLaughlin began by explaining how this plan was in definite need of an update; the last coming in 2001. He shared the following statistics with the council: King County contains 37 cities and all but two of these (Seattle and Milton) utilize the following: six urban transfer stations, four rural transfer facilities, nine closed landfills, and one open landfill to handle our solid waste. Solid waste is largely materials that cannot be recycled. McLaughlin explained the major planning elements to help move King County forward with its green initiatives while adhering to the major developments that are occurring in cities like Woodinville, Redmond, and Bothell.

On February 5, Gov. Jay Inslee announced his intention to resist any Trump Administration plan to develop offshore drilling in Washington state, in an attempt to protect what he called the “best coastline” in the United States. U.S. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke in January announced federal plans to lease oil and gas reserves on U.S. coastlines between 2019 and 2024.

So far, no company has come forward with plans to drill for gas or oil in Washington state.

Even so, “the inevitable risk is unacceptable in some of the best beaches in the world,” Inslee said in a press conference. “This is not a hypothetical or an abstraction.”

A proposed program could provide grants for community college students to learn trades in high demand in rural areas.

All counties in the state would qualify except for King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap, Watcom, Thurston, Clark, Benton, and Spokane counties.

Lisa Perry, representing Sierra Pacific Industries, a timber company in Skagit and Lewis counties, said at the bill’s hearing that at least one line in the company is not operating because of the lack of skilled workers. She said schools don’t encourage students to study fields like electric engineering, mechanics, or other trade fields. This bill, she said, would allow local industries to work with community colleges in their area to identify industry needs.